Weekend Breakfast withRefiloe Mpakanyane

The Water and Sanitation Department is calling on Gauteng residents to be mindful of the depleting dam levels and has urged them to adapt their water use accordingly as this may affect electricity production and water supplies.

This comes as the Integrated Vaal River System is being negatively impacted by the decline.

The Integrated Vaal River System is critical for water supply in major economic sectors in the country including Eskom operated power stations in Gauteng, the Sasol petrochemical plants on the Mpumalanga Highveld and in North West.

The department's spokesperson Sputnik Ratau has assured residents that there will be no water restrictions at the moment.

We are at levels that are lower than what we were a year ago but in terms of the system itself, we are still in a situation where we can still provide water for our economy, as well as for the consumer at home.

— Sputnik Ratau, Spokesperson - Water and Sanitation Department

We normally become highly concerned once we drop anything below 50%. So at the moment we are still in a situation where we can say that we can still continue to be comfortable with water use, obviously being mindful of the fact that the more we save water then the more we can be able to have for the longer term.